Trump’s American 🇺🇸 Expansion Plan
Plus, Meta says goodbye to fact-checking & Pacific Palisades wildfire
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Good morning,
Already sick of the snow? The National Zoo's giant pandas are not! 🐼
Three-year-olds Bao Li, a boy, and Qing Bao, a girl, arrived in D.C. in October—making this their first American snowstorm.
Don’t worry about them freezing! The bears' thick fur helps protect them and keep them warm.
D.C. is celebrating the "pandamonium" with a new panda pop-up bar and luxury "zoocation" packages.
Have a good one!
Mosheh, Jill, Sari, & Lauren
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📌 TRUMP’S BID FOR GREENLAND, THE PANAMA CANAL AND CANADA
As we get ready for a new Trump term, he is proposing a couple major new agenda items that were not part of last year’s campaign. On Tuesday, the president-elect suggested that he is open to using military force to gain control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, and economic force to acquire Canada as the “51st state.”
Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago during his second press conference since the election, Trump was asked whether he could guarantee that he won’t use military coercion to acquire the Panama Canal and Greenland: "No, I can’t assure you on either of those two," he responded, then adding, “We need them for economic security."
As for Canada, Trump clarified that he would use "economic force" in the form of tariffs and other leverage to achieve U.S. interests.
NOT THE FIRST TIME
In 2019, during his first term as president, Trump floated the idea of purchasing Greenland, a territory of Denmark — positioning it as a "real estate deal." This time, it appears it is more than a passing interest. On Tuesday, he posted on Truth Social, “Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation.”
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., visited the territory Tuesday, reportedly to shoot video content for a podcast, conferencing in his father on a call to tell residents that Greenland will be treated well as part of the U.S.
Greenland’s government distanced itself from the trip, issuing a statement clarifying that Donald Trump Jr. was visiting the world’s largest island (3x larger than Texas) as a private individual, and that no Greenlandic officials would meet with him. They insist that the territory with about 50,000 residents is not for sale, and it is instead interested in full independence.
WHY GREENLAND?
The mineral-rich Danish territory has a plethora of natural resources, including rare earth metals in high demand for making electric cars, wind turbines, and military equipment. Currently, China is dominating the rare earth space and Trump wants a bigger slice for America.
Greenland is also home to a key U.S. military base, and uniquely positioned between the U.S. and Europe as the arctic melts for shipping.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s King Frederik X, recently made a rare revision to Denmark’s royal coat of arms for the first time in over 500 years – to more prominently feature Greenland.
As for the Panama Canal, a vital shipping route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Trump claims shippers are being charged “ridiculous” fees. He views his ploy as reclaiming something that the U.S. originally built, and then owned and managed for decades until the 1990s. His concern is that Chinese companies are managing parts of the canal and it is a national security interest for the U.S. to have control again.
And finally, regarding Canada, we heard from Canadians in the Mo News community who said, “Our country is not for sale!” and asked Trump to “just stop.” But, Trump didn’t stop with social media posts Tuesday night.
MORE FROM TRUMP
The president-elect also told reporters that he wants to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America over immigration issues with the nation across the border.
“What a beautiful name,” Trump said. “And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.”
Can he do that? Pretty much. As president, he can direct U.S. agencies to use the new name. That being said, foreign governments and private organizations would likely not follow suit.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said she would introduce a bill ASAP to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
Reality check: The “Gulf of America” and “Great State of Canada” comments seem more like trolling than actually policy agendas.
📌 META DROPS FACT CHECKING AS IT LOOKS TO ADAPT AHEAD OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
On Tuesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the end of the company's third-party fact-checking program for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Instead, it will rely on a user-driven approach to content moderation — similar to the system used by X (formerly Twitter).
For more than eight years, Meta’s fact-checking program worked with independent journalists and organizations like PolitiFact, USA Today and Reuters to identify false information and hoaxes on the company’s social media platforms.
The fact-checkers would review flagged content, apply their organization’s editorial standards, and produce original reporting based on primary sources, interviews, public data, and analysis, to confirm information.
If content was found to be misleading or false, Meta could reduce its distribution, ensuring fewer people saw it.
That program faced criticism, particularly from conservatives, who argued it favored liberal viewpoints — especially after Meta temporarily demoted a New York Post story about Hunter Biden in 2020, a move Zuckerberg later called a “regret” of his.
UPDATES OR BLAST FROM THE PAST?
Zuckerberg is now saying the fact-checkers were “too politically biased,” and framed the new changes as a restoration of "free expression."
Meta also plans to relax certain restrictions, allowing more open discussion on topics like immigration and gender.
The company will focus its content moderation systems on severe violations — like drugs, terrorism, and child exploitation.
The team responsible for that work will be moved from California to Texas to “help remove the concern that biased employees are overly censoring content,” Zuckerberg added.
Zuckerberg cited the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election as a factor in his decision, and alluded to the Biden administration’s censorship over the last four years.
CLOSER TIES TO TRUMP
Meta’s decision comes as Big Tech companies that once distanced themselves from President-elect Trump are now cozying up to him as he prepares to take office.
Soon after the election, Zuckerberg took a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and last week, Zuckerberg appointed Dana White — CEO of UFC and a close Trump ally — to Meta’s board.
Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI are each donating $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, while Uber is donating $2 million.
📌 THOUSANDS EVACUATE SOUTHERN CA AS WILDFIRE RAGES AMID HISTORIC WINDS
Raging flames, driven by a fierce windstorm, scorched thousands of acres across Southern California on Tuesday, and forced more than 30,000 residents to evacuate.
As of Tuesday afternoon, at least 2,921 acres of the Pacific Palisades area between Santa Monica and Malibu had burned, including dozens of homes and buildings as of late Tuesday.
A second fire erupted in the Pasadena area Tuesday night—that is also leading to evacuations.
WIND & FIRE
The fast-spreading fire, aided by gusts of wind up to 100 miles per hour, had meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warning of "life-threatening" conditions that have not been seen in over a decade.
Those conditions are forecasted to persist through Wednesday afternoon, further intensifying fire conditions and hindering efforts to contain it.
The Los Angeles Fire Department issued evacuation orders for parts of the city on Tuesday afternoon. A Red Flag Warning was declared for the coastal regions of Southern California, due to strong winds and extreme fire danger.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 House passes immigration crackdown as first act of 2025 (AXIOS)
📌 Man who exploded Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI, police say (AP)
📌 Biden admin finalizes rule to ban medical debt from credit reports (NPR)
📌 Two death row inmates reject Biden's commutation of their life sentences (NBC)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Iran executes over 1K prisoners in 2024, highest total in 30 years, report says (FOX)
📌 Tibet earthquake kills at least 126 people and leaves many trapped (AP)
📌 U.K.'s anti-corruption minister refers herself to ethics watchdog over links to ousted Bangladeshi PM (NBC)
📌 Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s far-right National Front party, dies at 96 (CNN)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Meta hosts AI chatbots imitating 'Hitler,' 'Jesus Christ' and Taylor Swift (NBC)
📌 Getty Images, Shutterstock gear up for AI challenge with $3.7 billion merger (REUTERS)
📌 Talks to avert another potentially crippling port strike set to resume (AP)
📌 2 dead bodies discovered in landing gear of JetBlue plane (FOX)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Target taps Tom Holland’s star power for Dry January (CNN)
📌 Aubrey Plaza addresses ‘unimaginable tragedy’ of losing her husband (NBC)
📌 Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck finalize divorce 20 weeks after she filed (PEOPLE)
📌 Blake Lively’s lawyers say Justin Baldoni legal battle is ‘not a feud’ over ‘It Ends With Us’ creative differences, criticize ‘more attacks’ from Baldoni’s team (VARIETY)
📌 Allison Holker reveals that she found drugs hidden by tWitch as she prepared for his funeral (TODAY)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: JANUARY 8
1790: President George Washington delivered the first State of the Union address in New York City.
2001: Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake made headlines by arriving at the American Music Awards in their now-iconic matching denim outfits.
2003: ‘The Bachelorette' premiered on ABC. The first couple, Trista and Ryan Sutter, are still married.